Thesis--Bonn. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 367-538).

Thesis (doctoral)--Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-208).

No description available.

Since the fall of the Derg regime in 1991, Ethiopia has undergone a remarkable economic transformation. Shunning liberal policy advice yet avoiding the pathologies of patrimonialism, its experience is increasingly presented as an example for others to follow. However, there has been surprisingly little research, and even less consensus, on what actually constitutes this 'Ethiopian model.' The present thesis provides an answer to this question by focusing on the role of the EPRDF - the former insurgency movement which has governed Ethiopia since 1991 - and the fundamental reconstruction of state and market it has overseen. It argues that the resulting political economy is best characterised as a form of 'vanguard capitalism,' which combines the centralising political logic of a Leninist movement party with the expansive logic of capitalist markets. At its base lies the monopolisation of state-society relations by the EPRDF which, in turn, allows for the creation, centralisation and strategic use of economic rents by its administration. The two processes of illiberal state- and market-building are complementary, and their outcomes mutually reinforcing: a state that seeks to derive legitimacy from 'developmental' interventions in the economy, and an economy that advances a particular vision of the Ethiopian state. To bear out this argument, the thesis traces the evolving relationship between party, state, and market through four distinct periods in the EPRDF's Ethiopia. While the administrative and economic institutions built during the wartime years were all subsumed into the movement's thrust toward military victory, structural adjustment during the 1990s led to a gradual differentiation between party, state, and market. The propagation of an Ethiopian 'developmental state' in the early 2000s implied a re-centralisation of economic rents, yet without a corresponding degree of control over society the party was left vulnerable. After the electoral near-defeat of 2005 the EPRDF thus reclaimed its 'vanguard' role, again fusing party, state, and market into a campaign for economic transformation that it presents as a logical extension of the original struggle for liberation. The thesis draws on over one hundred stakeholder interviews conducted during ten months of field research in Addis Ababa, Mekelle, and among the Ethiopian diaspora, as well as on extensive archival research.

Over the past decade, road construction has come to represent Chinese engagement with Ethiopia. This study considers the lives of Chinese workers at the lower end of one such project in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. By examining the ways in which Chinese road workers tried to make sense of daily life on the construction site, I reveal the inherent contradictions of a state rhetoric that promoted 'win-win cooperation' ('huying huli hezuo') and 'friendly collaboration' ('youhao hezuo') between China and Africa, and demonstrate the local manifestations of the much-debated 'China Model'. Initial expectations coloured by state narratives, as well as the migrants' own experiences with domestic development, stood in sharp contrast to realities on the ground. Convinced of the goodwill nature of their activities, Chinese workers were puzzled by and resentful of the apparent ingratitude of local Ethiopians, their lack of cooperation, and, worse, repeated attempts to sabotage the construction work. Chinese workers' struggles with development in Africa, I argue, should be understood in relation to their background as upwardly mobile rural migrants at the bottom of the corporate hierarchy, successors of engineers dispatched under Mao Zedong who had enjoyed a respectable reputation at home - a reputation current workers felt they were about to lose - and as citizens aware of their country's status in the world as superior to Africa and inferior to the West. The workers sought to live up to Chinese ideals of development by demonstrating and promoting the virtues of self-development, simultaneous development, and entrepreneurialism. Ethiopians, however, did not concede to these ideas, and their lack of cooperation stirred resentment and expressions of self-pity on the part of the Chinese, who blamed the Ethiopian labourers, their suzhi (human quality), and wenhua (culture) for the limited success of the projects. What Chinese workers failed to realise was that the attitude of Ethiopians was in fact a response to asymmetrical and contested power relations that did not allow for win-win cooperation and friendly collaboration.

In surveying the literature on land tenure reform in Africa, what can readily be observed is that much of that body of work has comprised a markedly econometric and technical focus, to the neglect of evidently contiguous political factors. As a result, fundamental structural impediments to reform efforts have largely been ignored - a fact that may be reflected in the failure of many titling interventions. In light of this omission, the nature of political economy in both Ethiopia and Africa more generally is delineated in this thesis, in order to construct a more rounded conceptual framework through which the issue of land tenure can be deciphered. In so doing, the model of the ‘neopatrimonial’/anti-developmental state is utilised as a benchmark against which twentieth century Ethiopian regimes, and in particular the incumbent EPRDF Government, are assessed. Considerable evidence is uncovered to support the view that, despite its unique historical experience of independence, contemporary Ethiopia nevertheless fits with many key aspects of the neopatrimonial model – most notably in the Government’s pursuit of political survival and revenue to the neglect of long-term sustainable development. It is therefore argued that political imperatives have undermined the establishment of a progressive economic agenda in the country, and the ways in which this has affected land tenure are delineated. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the contemporary debate on tenure reform in Ethiopia has taken a form that is somewhat myopic and circuitous, possibly in an attempt to circumvent discussion of controversial political issues. It is argued that this apolitical stance has undermined not only the debate itself, but also the practical intervention strategies that have emerged from it, such as the recent land titling and administration project in Ethiopia. It is therefore concluded that the only means of escape from this theoretical and practical impasse is to reintegrate politics into the analysis.

This thesis explores the relationship between identity, social interaction, and social practice, through a case study of young diasporans of Ethiopian origin (YDEOs) from North America and their engagements in Ethiopian development initiatives. Specifically, I examine the ways in which people of Ethiopian descent born and/or raised in Canada and the U.S. construct a diasporic identity and engage with Ethiopian development initiatives through a mutually constitutive process. My methods were qualitative and involved conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews with 55 YDEOs and attending 8 community events in Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Addis Ababa. All of the YDEOs I interviewed had actively engaged in initiatives (based in North America or Ethiopia) intended to contribute towards the social, political, and/or economic development of Ethiopia. Their initiatives included fundraising events, establishing local NGOs, volunteer missions, and taking professional positions within the Ethiopian development sector, among others. Utilising an interactionist theoretical framework, I unpack YDEO motivations for engaging in Ethiopian development, the nature of the development activities themselves, and the ways in which these experiences have shaped YDEO relationships, identities, and trajectories in life so far. Engaging in Ethiopian development was rarely expressed as an extension of a pre-existing sense of Ethiopian patriotism; rather, YDEOs used these practices to explore, test, or build a sense of connection to their country of origin. Further, the development framework made it possible for them to forge a relationship that also resonated with their other social identities, and could even be leveraged to further other personal and professional goals. YDEO engagements in Ethiopian development were not simply interventions; they were fundamentally social processes defined by social interactions. In the process of organising fundraising events, volunteering at orphanages, and working on project reports, YDEOs were also building personal connections, gaining social capital, and redefining attitudes towards their families, communities, development, and Ethiopia itself. This thesis contributes an in-depth and critical analysis of the diaspora/development nexus - a nexus that emerges as a contested space, where people act and are acted upon, where identities are reified and transformed, and where institutions and social structures are both strengthened and challenged. The insights from migrant descendant experiences, such as YDEOs, highlights the ways in which diasporic identities take shape and are imbued with meaning through social practice, and how these practices are connected to broader human psychosocial needs, aspirations, and behaviours.

I demonstrate that household investments in children's education in Ethiopia are affected by parents' self-beliefs (such as their locus of control), parents' aspirations for children's educational attainment, children's conceptions of their roles and identities in the household and at school, and children's own preferences, all concepts not widely studied in development economics. Two empirical chapters report on a field experiment in which randomly selected adults watched documentaries about role models who were poor but succeeded in agriculture or small business. Six months later, parents' self-beliefs and aspirations for children's education were higher in the treatment than in the placebo and control groups. Enrolment of children in school, spending on education, saving and use of credit also increased. A third empirical chapter draws on longitudinal qualitative research to argue that children's preferences for their time allocation between work and school are strongly influenced by the desire to comply with valued identities as students and as independent earners and contributors to the household. The fourth chapter suggests that understanding children's preferences might improve predictions about their reaction to education policies. The literature predicts an increase in time in school will not improve test scores: children will reduce effort because they desire a limited amount of learning. I find a reform to lengthen the Ethiopian primary school day improves test scores. Although this could occur through many mechanisms, one possibility is that children do not prefer to limit their desired amount of learning. This suggests that better evidence on children's preferences might improve prediction of the effects of policies to alter school inputs. The conclusion reflects on whether the empirical relevance of concepts of self-beliefs, aspirations and identities implies that assumptions in standard models of decision-making in economics about the characteristics of beliefs and preferences ought to be rejected. I argue that these ideas can be captured by existing economic concepts of beliefs and preferences and by standard assumptions about these concepts. I suggest that, contrary to recent accounts building on human capital theory, self-beliefs should be viewed as beliefs, not non-cognitive skills. I consider aspirations as a type of preference, shaped by both objective constraints and self-beliefs. I consider identity as a preference for complying with a social role, but highlight that such preferences are often altruistic, rather than self-interested. In conclusion, I argue that economics should draw further on other social sciences, including psychology, to develop substantive theories of the formation and characteristics of beliefs and preferences. Doing so will suggest when it is appropriate to apply standard models and how their assumptions can be modified if their predictions do not hold.